Twenty-somethings in Britain today face a tougher start to adult life than any generation in half a century. From the weak jobs market and stagnant salary growth to a student loans system that even the government has described as broken and unfair, life is becoming more expensive. Key financial milestones such as leaving home, buying a property and even starting a family are becoming harder to achieve. The sense of desperation was palpable in the Money tent at the FT Weekend Festival last Saturday, which was packed with younger readers eager to learn more about how they could beat the financial odds from our panel of financial content creators, who have more than 750,000 followers between them. But the pressure to appear financially perfect on social media is too much for many.

One audience member admitted she was not doing very well, working hard to get ahead in her career and earn more, yet finding it crushing that nine-tenths of her student loan repayments were swallowed by the interest charged on her £50,000 debt. Her exasperation at seeing so much of her salary disappear to tax and loan repayments, but feeling like she was getting nowhere fast, was shared by many. Many FT readers tell me they have adult children living at home after graduating with first-class honours degrees from top universities who cannot find a job. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is boldly promising to “bring back hope” but it’s younger generations who need it the most. The UK has nearly 1mn “Neets” — under-25s not in employment, education or training — with around 300,000 of them considered “hidden Neets”, who are living at home not claiming benefits.

Oliver Gardner, founder of campaign group Rethink Repayment and an economics teacher with £47,000 in rising debt, said Rachel Reeves used to say that student loans were fair and proportionate, but there has been a real shift in communication style from this government. Abigail Foster, a 32-year-old accountant known online as That Finance Girl, said the decades-long treadmill of repaying student debt is a failure by the government, not the individual. Graduates repaying “Plan 2” loans who earn less than £45,000 six years after leaving university are unlikely ever to clear their debts, according to Department for Education data released last week.